


Rebel Generation

by exmanhater



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: 5 Times, Found Family, Kidfic, M/M, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 19:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exmanhater/pseuds/exmanhater
Summary: Parenting is hard. Parenting a half-Lasat, half-human child with a Force-sensitive best friend and very permissive aunts and uncles is harder. Parenting when your co-parent is Garazeb Orrelios is possibly the hardest. Kallus still wouldn't trade this for anything.





	Rebel Generation

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Rebel Generation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15603564) by [fandom_SW_rare_pairings_2018](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandom_SW_rare_pairings_2018/pseuds/fandom_SW_rare_pairings_2018), [Playing_on_shakuhachi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Playing_on_shakuhachi/pseuds/Playing_on_shakuhachi)



> I don't go into detail here at all about how they got her, but Zeb and Kallus have a daughter and although this story is in a completely different universe from my [other Zeb/Kallus kidfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13661049), you can assume that the same background for Lasat biology having evolved from marsupial-like ancestors, with a fun side effect of enabling easy mpreg, exists here, too.

**1\. Lothcats are not role models**

When Zellia is three, Kallus has what feel like daily heart attacks. Compared to humans, Lasat younglings, even ones who are only half-Lasat, enter the world much more physically advanced. He knows this—Zeb had prepared him, and he had done his own extensive research in the local health and biology databases on Lira San—but it is quite another experience entirely to see one's own three-year-old jumping from tall trees.

And there is no shortage of tall trees near their home for her to climb and jump from, even in the largest city on Lira San. The Lasat homeworld is beautiful, with nature and plantlife integrated into the architecture and city planning, and Kallus sometimes has trouble believing how different it is from Coruscant and other core worlds. There are trees along every path and road, and most Lasat younglings use them as a means of transportation, swinging their way along in the treetops. Kallus is grateful for Lira San and its unique arboreal heritage most of the time, and has been since Zeb first brought him here, long before he'd known what that action meant and how it would change the rest of his life. Zeb has a habit of doing that to him.

But sometimes, particularly when Kallus is watching Zellia perform death-defying stunts while Zeb tends to watch them with unabashed pride and not even an ounce of worry, he wishes there wasn't quite so much available nature.

"Zellia," he calls, doing his best to remain calm. "I believe that one might be a bit too tall for you right now. You aren't actually an asyyyriak."

She isn't a big talker yet, except when it comes to defending her physical prowess. "No!" she replies, and begins calculating the distance of the jump. The movement reminds him of a lothcat preparing to pounce, but he keeps those sorts of observations to himself these days. There's no need to precipitate another phase where Zellia communicates entirely with chirruping meows, no matter how cute it had been.

"Zellia," he says again, trying for a loving but firm tone. He's getting quite good at that.

"But—" Zellia tries, and is cut off when Zeb jumps up into the tree with her. Kallus hadn't even seen him arrive home, but he's happy to have the backup.

"Your dad told you not to jump," Zeb says, reaching out and settling Zellia on his shoulders. "You need to listen to him, kitten."

Zellia frowns, but is quickly diverted by the opportunity to pull on Zeb's ears.

"You didn't say I couldn't jump, though," Zeb says, turning a beseeching look at Kallus and conveniently moving Zellia's attention from his ears, as she mimics the look as soon as she hears the words.

Kallus smiles despite himself. "I didn't," he admits. "So I guess _you_ can jump."

Zeb lands on the ground a moment later, Zellia still yelling with glee. She leaps from his shoulders almost immediately and runs back into the house. Kallus lets Zeb pull him close for a kiss.

"You shouldn't encourage her too much," he says, trying for reproving and landing inevitably on fond amusement.

"You shouldn't encourage _me_ too much," Zeb growls, and the kiss gets more heated. They haven't seen each other all day, and it's rather shocking how hard it is for them to find any alone time now that they have a youngling.

Before long, they're interrupted by a crash from inside the house.

"She's your daughter when she breaks things," Kallus says wryly, but he goes with Zeb to find out what sort of mess Zellia's managing to get into now.

 

**2\. Ghost dads are cool**

When Zellia is six years old, she has a phase that Kallus finds very disturbing, and Zeb finds hilarious, which is just about usual for all their parenting experiences so far.

"Which one of you is my ghost dad, and which one is my alive dad?" she asks one night, when they've picked her up from the crèche where she spends half-days with several other younglings of the former rebels who are now somewhat settled on Lira San as well as Lasat younglings. Hera had come, as had several other remaining members of Phoenix squadron, and while they traveled far more often than most of the Lasat who called Lira San home, they had been just as welcomed to the planet as Kallus. He doesn't think any of them (including himself and Zeb) will ever truly settle down in one place forever, but the temporary group makes Lira San feel even more like a home to him. Even Rex and Sabine visit every once in a while.

Zellia spends the ride home detailing her various art projects, and asking to comm Aunt Sabine and show her, but as soon as they reach the house, she changes topics.

"Ghost dad?" Zeb asks, grabbing her coat as she shrugs out of it. "Do you mean which one of us was part of Aunt Hera's crew on the _Ghost_? Because that was me."

Kallus considers arguing the point—he spent plenty of the time on the _Ghost_ , especially after the final liberation of Lothal—but is distracted by trying to keep up with his daughter's half-leaps through the house toward the kitchen. Being the only full human in the family does have its occasional downsides. "Zellia, wait, please," he calls, but it's pointless.

"No," she calls from the kitchen, ignoring his admonishment. "My ghost dad, you know. The dad who is dead and comes back as a ghost."

Kallus swallows as Zeb meets his eyes in the hallway, both of them stunned. They have a complicated argument via facial expressions, which Kallus loses, and he sighs and heads over to Zellia.

"Both of us are alive," he says gently. "Can you tell us why you think one of us should be a ghost?"

Zeb comes into the room and sits down next to Zellia. He places a comforting hand low on Kallus' back, partially making up for not taking this particular question.

Zellia rolls her eyes. "Like Jacen, daddy," she says. "His mom is alive and his dad is a ghost, and he says that at least one of my dads has to be a ghost because that's how it works, so I just want to know which one of you is a ghost. Jacen's dad can do Force magic!"

Jacen is a year older than Zellia, and her preferred source for information about the world, which often leads to interesting parenting conversations. Kallus swallows again and shares another look with Zeb, but while he is worried, Zeb is clearly holding back laughter. "You do wear a lot of black, maybe you are dead," Zeb whispers in his ear, and Kallus swats away the hand Zeb is still holding against his back.

"Jacen's dad is certainly a ghost," Kallus says to Zellia, because while he has never seen Kanan himself, he has noted Hera's post-war habit of holding a hand to her shoulder, as if she's touching something or someone precious, and he's seen enough of the Force to know how much he doesn't know about it. "But he was a Jedi. Your papa and I aren't, and so we're both alive."

"That's not fair," she pouts, and Zeb swoops in to distract her.

"Is a ghost cooler than me?" he says, swinging her up in the air and letting her fall back into his waiting arms as she shrieks with laughter. "A ghost couldn't do this."

Kallus makes a note to contact Hera, and Zellia is successfully moved from the topic of ghost dads, and why she doesn't have one. Kallus expects that to be the end of it, but as ever, his family defies all expectations.

Two weeks later, he's walking with Zellia in the park when she brings it up again.

"I think papa is probably my ghost dad," she says, hanging from a tree branch. It still makes Kallus a bit nervous, but Zeb has been very insistent that she get to practice using her feet. Kallus is glad that she ended up with more Lasat features than human; Zeb is certainly the more prepared parent when it comes to culture and biology, and secretly, Kallus feels closer to his chosen family and people when he looks at her and sees them, and can still see himself in her eyes and her hair. It's not possible for him to ever truly make up for the evil he'd done as an Imperial, but between Zellia and the victory he'd helped the Rebellion win, he feels just that one bit closer.

"Didn't Aunt Hera talk to you about that?" he asks, because he remembers the whole thing very clearly, and although she and Jacen had been disappointed that not everyone got to have ghost dads, they'd seemed to understand that Jacen's family was a little different from other families. It had helped when she'd been reminded that she had a ghost uncle, even if she couldn't see him.

"Jacen and I decided that the ghost dad is just the one who can do magic and doesn't have to actually be dead, and papa can lift a whole speeder!" Zellia says, flipping over and landing nimbly on the ground next to Kallus.

Kallus spares a brief moment to wonder why these sorts of things always happen when Zeb isn't there. "Well, your papa is a Lasat, and they are much stronger than humans. It's just like the way you and papa can hang from your feet, and I can't."

"I'm gonna be able to lift a whole speeder when I grow up?" Zellia yells, her eyes as big as her head.

_I've made a terrible mistake,_ thinks Kallus, as he pictures his husband and his daughter on an all-too-plausible violent speeder-lifting crime spree. Outwardly, he remains calm. "Well, maybe," he says. "We don't know any other younglings who are half-human and half-Lasat. But you will be very strong, and it will be important for you to remember that so you don't damage anyone's property."

Kallus looks down to see a familiar pout. "Papa doesn't worry about damaging things!" Zellia protests.

Kallus drops down to his knees and tips her face up a bit. "He does," he says, smiling at her. "He's very careful not to hurt me, or any of our friends and family who aren't as strong as him. That's one of the things I love about him."

Zellia sniffs, but nods in agreement, clearly thinking about what he's said. Then a giant grin transforms her face. "That means when I grow up, I can be the ghost mom!"

Kallus has to laugh. As long as she isn't insistent on ghost parents being actually dead, he can't really see any harm in it now. "Yes," he says. "You can be a ghost mom, if you want."

"Let's go tell papa," she yells, and bounds back toward the city, leaving Kallus to run behind her in a familiar tableau.

 

(Later, when Zellia is an adult, the "ghost parents" story is a particular favorite that Zeb and Kallus pull out whenever Jacen and Zellia are in the same place. Hera appreciates it, even if the kids don't.)

 

**3\. Aunts are a necessary part of the family structure**

When Zellia is ten, she and Jacen decide that the ground is lava. This wouldn't be a huge problem, if it weren’t for the fact that they also decide that Chopper, being lava-proof, is now their personal transport.

"Zellia!" Zeb roars, after he's had his feet run over by Chopper carrying two kids around the _Ghost_ more than three times. Kallus sympathizes, he really does, but he's also grateful that Chopper's leaving _his_ feet alone. "How is that even physically possible? They're twice as big as that bucket of bolts!"

"Shall I send them to the cargo bay?" Kallus says, handing Zeb the tool he needs next. They have to finish repairing the fuel lines and casing before they'll be able to jump somewhere the kids can really work out their energy. Chopper babysitting is actually doing them a favor in this instance.

"Yeah, if you can get 'em to go there," Zeb grumbles, but he gets back to work. Everyone will be happier when they reach Lothal and can stretch their legs.

Kallus sends a message to Chopper on the comm, but it's even odds if that will work or not. Chopper is either one of the kids or one of the adults depending on which will lead to the most chaos in any given situation.

Space travel isn't new for Zellia, and for Jacen, it's his natural habitat, so it's not surprising that each trip they take leads to new and exciting shenanigans, and this is the first one they've had together for a while. Zellia and Jacen's reunion is now in full, catastrophic swing after having been separated for several years when Hera had eventually taken Jacen back to Ryloth to get to know his grandfather and his Twi'lek heritage. Hera had picked them up in the _Ghost_ a few days prior, and it's been one loud party ever since.

Kallus is glad that Zellia is growing up in a broader (and safer) universe than he did, and that she has such a friend in Jacen, even if it does mean he and Zeb are sometimes responsible for a tiny, mischievous Jedi (who seems to get into more trouble than Ezra ever did) along with their own hellraiser.

The sounds of a crash and shrieking laughter come from the direction of the cargo bay, and Kallus stands up wearily. "You keep on with that," he tells Zeb. "I'll go see what the damage is."

He comms Hera on his way. "The fuel line is almost repaired, but I'm headed to babysitting duty while Zeb finishes up the easy work."

Hera chuckles. "I could hear the racket from here, but I don't think anyone's hurt. Thanks for handling it."

"My pleasure," Kallus says wryly. "We'll let Sabine take over when we arrive, shall we?"

"Best idea you've ever had," Hera agrees, and Kallus is still smiling when he gets to the cargo bay.

When they do reach Lothal, Sabine meets them at the space port with a speeder full of paint and a truly diabolical projectile art project plan.

"What?" she says defensively, at the twin looks of alarm Hera and Kallus send her way. "It's the kind that washes out! Plus, I'll take care of everything and you don't even have to come. It'll be cool kids only, and you definitely don't qualify, right?" she says, turning to address the last word at Jacen and Zellia, who were still balancing on Chopper and refusing to touch the ground.

"Right," they yell, and Chopper joins in, too, spinning them around and cheering.

Zeb shrugs and starts heading toward the other speeders Sabine has provided. "They're all yours, Specter 5. Don't let anyone die."

Kallus considers arguing for only a second. "They'll be fine with Sabine," he reminds Hera. "And I would rather like a break after that trip."

Hera laughs. "Okay, Sabine, but be careful. The ground is apparently lava to younglings right now."

"Hera, don't you trust me?" Sabine says, smiling, and puts on her helmet. "Last one to the speeder is a womprat," she tells the kids, and Chopper puts on the speed.

Kallus follows Zeb and joins him on a free speeder, while Hera takes the last one.

"We'll be home for dinner," Sabine yells over her shoulder, and Jacen and Zellia wave.

"Ten credits Sabine comes home covered in paint and vowing to never reproduce," Zeb says, once they get to the observation tower Sabine has been turning into a living space.

"No bet," Hera says. "She might come back covered in paint, but she'll be happy about it."

"Fair point," Kallus says. "I think we deserve our night off, however, so might I suggest some wine?"

When Sabine does come back, she is covered in paint, and very happy. The kids are still riding Chopper, whose paint job is now covered in handprints and various neon splatters.

"Have fun?" Hera asks. She and Kallus are playing sabacc, while Zeb snores, slumped over in Kallus' lap.

Sabine grins tiredly, her helmet under her arm. Her face is still mostly clean. "The most fun ever. I'm the cool aunt, after all."

"I'm starving," Zellia says. Kallus looks at her and smiles. Her skin and fur are completely covered in green paint, and the only purple he can see is a patch on her face.

"Me, too!" Jacen adds, and for the first time in several days, both kids look like they might be willing to step on the ground if it will get them some food. Sabine is truly magical.

"Food is all ready," Hera says. "But it's only for younglings who have washed their hands and faces thoroughly."

"Moooom," Jacen says, and Zellia breaks out her most lethal pout.

Kallus smiles behind a hand, so the kids can't see. Zeb hasn't woken up, which means Zellia's pout isn't going to have the intended effect.

"Fresher, now," Kallus says, pointing in the right direction. He doesn't think it will always be this easy to get Jacen and Zellia to pay attention, but he's grateful the stern voice still works at the moment.

"Ugh, fine," Zellia says, and does a unnecessarily showy flip into the air to dismount from Chopper. Not to be outdone, Jacen does his own jump, which doesn't quite get the same altitude. He appears happy with it, however, and Hera and Kallus share an amused look.

The kids tromp off together, the lava-ground forgotten for now.

Sabine drops her helmet and reaches for the open wine bottle. "What?" she says, watching Kallus and Hera laugh at her. "I've _earned_ this!"

 

**4\. Triple the trouble, quadruple the fun**

When Zellia is twelve, she meets her Uncle Ezra for the first time, and becomes an absolute menace. Jacen is not far behind.

"Do the purgill still want him, by any chance?" Zeb asks with a grimace, wiping the squashed fruit mess off his face as he enters the room he and Kallus are using during the trip. "Maybe it's not too late to send him back."

Kallus hides a grin, because he doesn't want to make the situation worse and he does sympathize. He'd been the terrible three's last target before Zeb, after all. He's still picking feathers out of his clothes. "You don't mean that," he says, and hands Zeb a cloth.

They're all on Ryloth at Hera's newly rebuilt family home, enjoying a reunion of sorts now that Ahsoka and Sabine have brought Ezra back for good. The quickly-forged alliance between Ezra, Jacen, and Zellia has been wreaking havoc on the rest of them for days. When they had first seen Ezra, there had been a lot of laughing and crying and exclaiming over his new (terrible) beard. Jacen and Zellia had been a little shy to start with, hanging back, unsure about the strange new human all the adults in their lives were so happy to see. 

That had not lasted long.

Kallus thinks they really should have been more prepared for this eventuality, but he supposes that he had spent more time on the dangerous end of Ezra's plans than the rest of them.

"I mean it!" Zeb insists. "I'm not saying Zellia is perfect, but I'm sure she wasn't this devious before he came back!"

"It's difficult to be displaced as her partner in crime," Kallus says, mock sympathy in full force. "I understand."

Zeb growls, but once he's finished cleaning his face, he deflates. "I guess she's getting too old to want to hang out with us much."

Kallus looks up in surprise, hearing the real worry in Zeb's voice. "She's only twelve," he says. "I think we have at least another year before she refuses to hug us in public anymore."

"Yeah, I know," Zeb says. "I just miss how easy it used to be to get her excited about something simple like dropping from the ceiling to scare you when you got home from a trip."

"Naturally," Kallus says dryly. "Thanks ever so much for that, by the way."

Zeb laughs and wraps Kallus up into an embrace. "Don't act like you didn't teach her how to sneak around and get away with things," he says, rubbing his face against Kallus' neck. "Or like you don't miss it, too."

Kallus shivers, and sinks into Zeb's warmth. They're off babysitting duty tonight, so they can enjoy some quiet time while Hera and Sabine do the heavy lifting. At some point, Kallus is pretty sure, Ezra is going to offer to train Jacen, which will change the dynamic for Jacen and Zellia. He's content to live through the pranks, and prepare for helping Zellia manage her response to feeling left out. He could be wrong, but he rarely is when it comes to his daughter.

"I do," he replies. "I miss everything from being constantly amazed and confused at Lasat physiology to having to threaten you both daily to get any of her schoolwork done. But we've got a lot to look forward to, still."

"You're always right," Zeb says quietly, then pulls back and gives Kallus a conspiratorial grin. "Except for when you're wrong and I have to recruit you for the Rebellion."

"Are you really going to hold that against me forever?" Kallus says, smiling at the comforting routine of a very old joke.

"For the rest of my life," Zeb says, and Kallus swallows at the sudden change of mood. He suspects they're about to make good use of their night alone.

+++

The next morning, Ezra makes the offer they've been expecting. He's already spoken to Hera, clearly, because Hera is the one to ask Jacen what he wants. Zellia finds out when Jacen runs into the common area yelling that he's going to be a Jedi, like his ghost dad.

"I want to be a Jedi, too," Zellia says, predictably. Kallus and Zeb share a look, and Zeb takes Zellia's hand.

"I think we should let Jacen and Ezra talk a little in private," Zeb says. "C'mon, we'll have a mini-family meeting."

Zellia looks like she's going to protest, but then she looks over and sees Jacen chatting excitedly at Ezra, who still has a slightly amazed expression whenever he's around Jacen. Zellia's shoulders slump and her ears fall. She lets Zeb pull her along into another room. Hera pats Kallus's shoulder as he follows. 

"Thanks," she whispers, and Kallus nods.

"But he won't even want to hang out with me anymore," Zellia is saying, tears in her eyes, as the doors shut behind Kallus.

"I don't think that's true," Zeb tells her, one arm around her shoulders. "Things will change, but you'll still be friends."

Zellia growls. "That's just a dumb grown-up lie," she says. Zeb pointedly glares at Kallus behind Zellia's back, and Kallus raises his hands in a helpless gesture. Maybe he shouldn't have always been as honest and logical as possible with Zellia, but he's never seen the point of hiding reality from younglings. He answers Zellia's questions truthfully and has since she started talking, in a way that was appropriate for her age at the time. She has a finely honed sense of when someone is trying to sell her on a platitude.

Kallus sits across from Zellia and nudges her chin up to look at him. "Sometimes dumb grown-up lies have some truth to them," he says. "When Jacen left Lira San to live on Ryloth, you were worried about never seeing him again, weren't you?"

Zellia nods, but she still has tears in her eyes and she turns away to look at the floor. Kallus isn't sure she's ready to see reason yet.

"And what happened?" he continues anyway, because he's learned by experience that most of the time in parenting, the only way out is through.

Zeb strokes his hand down Zellia's back, a soothing gesture he's used since she was tiny. Kallus can see her settle a bit at the familiar touch. She eventually looks back up at him. "He called all the time, and we visited each other a lot, and he was still my best friend," she admits, reluctantly.

"I can't promise that everything will be the same," Kallus says. "But I don't think it will be the bad kind of different."

"Maybe," Zellia says. Kallus doesn't want to push any further. 

"Cheer up, kitten," Zeb tells her. "You're going to need some free time if you want to learn all the tricks you need to keep a Jedi in their place."

That puts an interested gleam back in Zellia's eyes. "What kind of tricks?" she asks, and Kallus rolls his eyes a little at both of them.

"The best kind," Zeb says, and swings Zellia up on his shoulders, which is quite a feat now that she's twelve. "Your Aunt Sabine and I have been dealing with upstart Jedis for years, and we don't have any Force powers. But we don't need 'em, not when we've got brain _and_ brawn on our side."

"I should learn some tactics," Zellia says, nodding determinedly. Kallus feels his chest overflow with pride. She is the best of both himself and Zeb, plus so much more.

Zeb pulls Zellia down and they leave the room together, already talking strategy.

Kallus goes to find Hera. The actual adults should do some strategizing, too, if the prank wars have claimed Zeb now, and created factions.

 

**5\. Everyone grows up**

When Zellia is sixteen, she decides she officially wants to be an artist. She's always loved painting and sculpting, and she sees interesting patterns everywhere. Her favorite vacations have always been the ones when Sabine joined them, or when Zellia was able to go visit Sabine on her own. Kallus isn't surprised that she wants to go to an art academy recommended by Sabine, but he is surprised that she only tells him, and not Zeb.

"Papa won't understand," she says, voice low and face turned away from him when he asks her about it. "Can it be our secret for now?"

"I won't say anything until you do," Kallus replies, worried now. He sits down on the couch and tugs her hand to have her join him there. "Why do you think he won't understand? He knows how much you love your art."

She stays quiet for a long moment. "But he's never been happy when I go to stay with Aunt Sabine for art classes or projects. I think—I think he wants me to be a warrior, like him. He's happy when we practice fighting together, and he's always boasting about my strength."

Kallus thinks for a moment. As alike as Zeb and Zellia are, they often have trouble understanding each other. Kallus has always been the parent who gets the delicate problems and complicated situations, and Zeb's been the one who can fully match Zellia's energy and adventurous nature, but they've both always had her trust. He knows Zeb would be hurt to hear any of this.

"I want him to still be proud of me, but—" Zellia continues, tears starting up in the corners of her eyes. She seldom hides her emotions—she's been raised in a world where she doesn't have to, which Kallus is incredibly grateful for despite it being a very foreign concept to him—but she tries to surreptitiously wipe at her face.

"He will _always_ be proud of you," Kallus says, putting an arm around her shoulder. She's almost as tall as he is now, and he thinks for a second about how small she used to be, fitting entirely in one of Zeb's hands or both of his. "I think he sometimes says more about your fighting skills than anything else because that's what he knows best, what's he qualified to judge."

"You don't have to be an artist to appreciate art," Zellia says, a stubborn tilt to her head. The tears stop, however, so Kallus takes it as a good sign.

"Maybe he could do a better job of telling you directly that he likes your art," Kallus offers. "But do you want to see something that might help?"

"What?" Zellia says, confused. "I mean, I guess?"

Kallus leads her to the back of the house, to the small room Zeb uses as a place to get away from everyone. He's a social person and doesn't like to be alone often, but even he needs a break from everything once in a while.

"I'm not allowed in there," Zellia says, feet planted firmly on the ground and not letting Kallus budge her an inch.

"You can have special dispensation just this once," Kallus says, inwardly rolling his eyes. She's never been too worried about breaking the rules before this. "On my authority."

"If you say so, but it's your fault if I get in trouble," Zellia says, but her ears are tilted forward with curiosity, and Kallus knows how much she wants to find out what's in the space she's always been forbidden from entering.

He opens the door and holds it for her, gesturing her inside. There's not much there—a comfy chair facing the window, a seriously oversized music system—but what Zellia sees makes her gasp in surprise. The walls are covered with her art, and the one shelf on the wall has her first attempts at pottery and sculpture.

"He's kept everything you've ever made for him," Kallus says quietly, once she's taken in the entire space. "And quite a few things you threw away."

"These are—some of these are terrible!" Zellia says with a choked laugh. "He doesn't show anyone else this stuff, does he?"

"I thought you wanted him to be proud of you," Kallus replies, a tiny smirk threatening to break through his carefully composed parenting expression.

Zellia snorts. "Not this proud," she says, swinging an arm around and pointing at some of her finger paintings from when she was three. "Just of my good stuff."

"We're your parents," Kallus says. "We're always going to be biased in your favor. I'm afraid you'll just have to live with it."

Zellia can't hold back a real smile at that. "I guess it's not so bad," she mumbles, a slight flush turning her cheeks a deeper purple.

Kallus puts an arm around her shoulder and leads her back out of the room. "I won't tell your papa about the art academy until you're ready," he says. "But he's going to be very happy for you. We fought the Empire so that people could be free to do what they love, and there's no one we want that for more than you."

"Oh no, are you going to tell more war stories, dad?" Zellia rolls her eyes and grabs a meiloorun fruit from the kitchen counter. "Because being stuck with your mortal enemy on a frozen moon and almost dying is not actually romantic."

"What do you know about romance?" Kallus says, pretending to be affronted at what is a very old joke by now. Zellia just laughs and disappears into her room.

Kallus sighs and sits down to think. He knows Zeb won't mind that he showed Zellia the room, though he will be embarrassed. But soon Zellia will leave for the academy, and she's almost an adult. It feels strange and lonely to think of home without her in it, even with Zeb still there. Maybe when she leaves, he and Zeb should visit Hera, Jacen, and Ezra on Ryloth, or find out where Sabine and Ahsoka are now and join them for a while. They'll have to talk it over. They've never stayed on Lira San for more than a few years at a time, but he's afraid traveling without Zellia will feel just as strange as staying home without her.

When Zeb gets back from his latest bo-rifle instruction class, Kallus stays true to his word and doesn't mention art at all. Zellia does, though, and Kallus politely pretends he can't see his ridiculous Lasat husband and daughter crying into each other's arms.

That night, Zeb tosses and turns for hours, and Kallus can't sleep either, despite usually being able to sleep through every noise and motion Zeb can make, due to years of practice.

"She's growing up," Zeb finally says, and Kallus rolls over to wrap an arm around Zeb and press a kiss to the back of his neck. "What are we gonna do?"

"Well," Kallus says. "I suspect we're both going to be pretty pathetic for a while."

Zeb huffs out a laugh. "True enough."

"Then we might remember that having the house to ourselves used to be our fondest and wildest dream when she was six and we couldn't get a moment's peace."

"Those were the days," Zeb says fondly. "That little monster didn't let us rest until she was ten."

"I'll pretend not to miss it if you will," Kallus says, and Zeb turns over to kiss him.

"Sex will get a little easier to schedule," he says with a dirty grin, before kissing Kallus again, and Kallus answers in kind.

[the end.]


End file.
